Sept. 21, 2023: Conference on “U.S. Clandestine Operations Against China in the Early Cold War,” honoring BU alumnus Richard Fecteau
Conference proceedings (as video-recorded)
On September 21, 2023, IHI sponsored a BU conference on the topic of “Clandestine Operations Against China during the Early Cold War.” This conference, in part, honored the service and sacrifice of CIA officer Richard “Dick” Fecteau, a Lynn, MA native and Boston University (BU) alumnus.
Dick Fecteau, a Massachusetts hero, is one of the CIA’s most highly decorated officers. He spent twenty years in a Communist Chinese prison enduring horrible conditions when a CIA clandestine operation into China, in which he was a participant, went horribly wrong in 1952. The Chinese released Fecteau from prison in 1972. He retired from the CIA and became the assistant athletic director at BU in 1976. Upon his retirement from BU, he enjoys a quiet retirement in his hometown. On September 23, BU honored Mr. Fecteau with its highest alumni award at a banquet on campus.
Above Left: CIA officers Richard Fecteau and John Downey with a captured American B-29 crew in a Chinese prison in this staged Communist Chinese propaganda photo from the 1950s. The second person from the left is Downey; Fecteau is standing at the right side of the table, reaching down for a meal. (CIA)
Above Right: John Downey (left) and Richard Fecteau at a CIA award ceremony in 2013. (CIA)